"Best shoot em' up of all time."

Why do I think this is the greatest game of all time? Well, this is what this review is for, right?

GAMEPLAY

This game is incredible. It is a vertical shooter game (shoot em up) in which you take control of a space ship. You start with a basic ship worth not much at all, and some VERY awful weapons. For each enemy/good thing you pick up you gain points, which are used as money. With the money you can buy a better ship (improves armor), front gun (main weapon), rear gun (extra weapon), shield (so you last longer), generator (makes it so your shield regenerates faster and weapons can fire at a faster rate), left sidekick weapon (can be anything from a small concentrated laser to a limited ammo giant missile), and right sidekick weapon (same as left sidekick but also sometimes includes an attachment for the front of your ship). There are over 150 weapons/shields/generators/sidekicks, and over 15 different ships. The best part about it? The front gun's and rear gun's can be ''upgraded'' to a new level. Each of the front/rear guns can range from level 1 to level 11. Level 1 on any weapon is usually not good at all, but level 11 is very good indeed, with any weapon. You just have to experiment and find which weapon combos work for you! While you're actually in the levels if you hold the fire button all weapons will fire (besides limited ammo sidekicks), and your generator will try to keep up with all the shooting. If the generator can't take all the weapons and things being fired then your weapons will shoot at a slower pace, so the generator is a big help. The shield will regenerate at a speed determined by the generator of your ship. If you shield goes all the way down from getting shot too many times or the like, then your armor starts going down. The armor does not regenerate and is determined by the ship you have. If you armor bar hits the bottom, then you die. If you die you have to try to redo the level but you will not lose any money. Keep trying until you beat the level!

GRAPHICS

The graphics are very good for when it was made, but look outdated now. The backgrounds of the levels look excellent and the weapons do too. You wont get any super 3d shiny reflection stuff but the graphics are good enough so that you can tell what you're doing. I hope that's enough for you.

SOUND/MUSIC

It's incredible. The music is some of the best music I have ever heard in a video/computer game and I'm sure you will enjoy it. There is tons of music for each level and it all sounds great. I see no problems with the music at all. The sound is also very very good. The sound of each weapon firing and the ships exploding is very very good. I can't truly express in words (text) how good it is.

DIFFICULTY

Easy is perfect for beginners, Normal is what you should try after you beat easy, Hard is truly hard. There is also 2 hidden difficulties, Impossible and Suicide. Impossible is REALLY tough and it took me a month to beat it on suicide 0_o. Really a challenge. Also, there is some hidden modes with cool new features, one of them is a new difficulty. It is "Lord of the Game" mode, and is called that because you really need to be a "Lord of the Game."

REPLAYABILITY

I have clocked maybe 600 hours on this game and I love every bit of it. If you beat it a few times you will get hooked. I have beaten it about 60 times ranging from easy to suicide mode. There is also a few hidden modes, and even a little Scorched Earth-like game hidden in it. I've had hours of fun playing that too. This game really did it for me. It really couldn't make you want to keep playing more. It is also 2 players, which allows for co-op mode or you could compete trying to get more points. Very very fun.

BIGGEST FLAW

The only flaw isn't the game itself, it is that it doesn't work on most of the newer computers. If you have an old junky computer that you rarely use but still works, then that would be the perfect thing to play it on.

OVERALL RATING - 10/10

This is a must get, but it is hard to come across. I recommend it to anyone who likes shoot em' ups at all.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/10/03, Updated 05/25/04